How can India bounce back in T20Is after loss to Ireland & England?
(Courtesy : BCCI/Twitter)
India faced a whitewash in a T20I series against Ireland in June.
Since 2024, the Indian Cricket Team has been one of the best teams in the T20I format. They showcased their dominance in international cricket yet again by winning the T20 World Cup in March 2026. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy, the Men in Blue defeated New Zealand in the final by 96 runs to defend their title.
With the win, India became the first team to defend their title in the tournament’s history and also the first nation to win T20 World Cup three times. Also, under Suryakumar’s leadership from July 2024 to March 2026, India did not lose a single bilateral T20I series, which in itself reveals the kind of dominance they displayed in two years.
Although they lost a few games, they never lost a T20I series at home or on foreign soil. They also had an unbeaten run in the Asia Cup 2025 and won the title by crushing Pakistan in the final. Moreover, Suryakumar Yadav had more than 80% win percentage, ending as most successful T20I captain of India.
However, his poor run of form along with age factor made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remove him as captain. The selectors handed the role to Shreyas Iyer, who impressed many with his leadership in last few years in IPL.
The change in the captaincy, however, didn’t go well with India, as they are having a poor time in UK. Shreyas Iyer faced a big shock in his first assignment as captain as India lost both T20I games against Ireland, who defeated Men in Blue for the very first time in international cricket.
Not only this, India also suffered blow in the T20I series against England, losing three out of four games with one no result. They have lost the five-match series with one more game to go.
The back-to-back series defeats in the UK tour, just after winning the T20 World Cup, have raised questions on India in T20I cricket. In the upcoming months, they need to bounce back and showcase their might on the international stage to justify their tag of World Champions.
How can India regain their dominance in T20I cricket?
1. Form a stable batting core
India have completely struggled to come up good with bat in the Ireland and England series. For instance, they failed to chase 183 and 154 targets in the two matches against Ireland.
In the 3rd T20I against England, they were bowled out for just 76 runs to register their second-lowest total in T20I cricket. In the fourth game, they failed to post a respectable total in the first innings, reaching 158/7.
India’s top and middle-order batters have continuously flopped. They need to form a strong batting unit and develop a stable order. Also, dropping and shuffling the positions of players like Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Axar Patel has developed sense of insecurity among the player, which needs to end and players should be given clarity.
2. Develop specialist finishers
Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, and Hardik Pandya are among the regular finishers for India in T20Is. In the ongoing series against England, Varma and Dube have been asked to perform the role role of finisher. However, both of them have struggled to get going.
The role of a finisher is important, especially in T20I cricket as one needs to smash as many runs as possible in the death overs and accelerate the scoreboard. Also, a finisher needs to bat at a high strike rate from the first ball itself, which hasn’t been the case for India in England T20Is.
India lack dominant finishers in the current team, and they need to develop a few such batters to strengthen their batting depth.
3. Strengthen pace attack
Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Jasprit Bumrah are the regular pacers for India in the shortest format. A few newcomers have been given opportunities in recent times. The Men in Blue lack bench strength in the pace unit and have to depend on a handful of players in every series.
The management needs to prepare more pacers for the T20I team who can excel in foreign conditions and trouble the opposition on flat pitches.
4. Prepare well for overseas campaign
The current lot of Indian players have played majority of cricket of Indian pitches. After the home season, the players were busy with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 till May end. Within just a week after the tournament, they clashed with Afghanistan in a one-off test and ODI series. The campaign was followed by the away tours against Ireland and England.
The players regrouped just a few days ahead of the UK tour and didn’t undergo enough preparations. Moreover, they did not play any practice games ahead of the T20I series against Ireland and England.
The lack of preparation is quite visible, with even star players struggling to perform in UK conditions. Winning away from home requires adapting to different pitches, weather, and opposition styles rather than relying on one approach. Hence, the Indian Cricket Team need to prepare properly ahead of overseas campaigns in future.
Who won the IRE vs IND T20I series?
Ireland won the T20I series 2-0.
Who is the new captain of India in T20Is?
Shreyas Iyer is the new captain of the side in T20Is.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.